Yoris
Yoris is a half-elf who was raised by an order of monks who worship the Raven Queen. Little is known of Yoris's beginnings. His father left him in the care of the monks when he was just an infant. To this day, Yoris doesn't know why the monks took him into his care. They are servents of the Raven Queen: supporters of death itself. Why would such an order take to caring for a helpless infant? Yoris assumes the answer lies in his father. Knowing next to nothing about him, Yoris continues his search for clues into why he was cared for by these monks and not left to die. As a child, Yoris was constantly chastized. His love of life and raw childish energy were constantly thwarted by the order of the Raven Queen. Constantly reminded he was a failure, Yoris took to doing the lowest of chores for the monastary. He developed a fondness for caring for the Order's pigs. He would watch them toss in the mud, so care free and pink. He would go out of his way to spend extra time with the ones that would be slaughtered next. A last bit of joy before becoming a dinner for himself and the monks. Yoris thought himself to be the lighter half of life's balance. He was content with his place in life: the top of the pig world, the lowest of the Order's. He lived this way for 16 years. When Yoris was 19, a group of weary human travellers happened upon the Monastary. Twenty in all, the travellers sought refuge in the Monastary, away from the elements and dangers that lurked on the wooded roads ahead. Despite the plight of the travellers, the Monks of the Order would not let them through the gates. It is not in the doctrine of servents of the Raven Queen to help the weak and dying. The travellers took up camp outside the gates. For fourteen days they camped and pleaded with the Monks to let them in. It never happened. Every night for those fourteen days, guided by the travellers' campfire music, Yoris would sneak out of his room above the pig barn to watch the torchlit camp below. He was fascinated by them. Despite their near starvation and deteriorating condition, they celebrated every night for those fourteen days. Yoris couldn't see any reason they'd have to celebrate, yet they danced around the campfire, singing songs of better times as if everything was fine. Every night they danced and Yoris watched. He was interested in all of them, but mostly one girl of about 20 years old. Yoris never learned her name since he was not allowed outside the gates. He knew that if he was caught outside the gates, he too would be left for dead by the strict brothers of the Order. He would always look for her, though. She seemed to dance most freely out of all of them. He enjoyed watching her very much. As the fourteen days went on, there started to be less travellers every night around the fire. On the fourteenth night, Yoris awoke to the dark blue sky of early morning. He heard no music. Thinking he had missed the festivities, Yoris rushed out of bed to his spot atop the wall. There was no music. Instead he saw the lifeless body of the girl he had watched all those nights being carried into the woods by the rest of the travellers. That day, Yoris packed up what he had and left the Monastary, never saying anything to the Monks. Using his knowledge of the Monastary's archived maps, he headed north, leading the remainder of the travellers to a small town to start a new beginning. He wanted to find out why his father had left him with such a miserable group of good for nothing monks, and why they hadn't left him outside to die when he was an infant. He also found out recently that he likes smoking the halfling's weed.